Yarra City Council Really, Really Doesn’t Want You to Party in Public Parks on NYE

Last night, Yarra City Council passed a motion to ban alcohol consumption from all public parks and spaces this New Year's Eve. Unsurprisingly, this move comes in response to the gargantuan, national news-making, free-for-all rave that took place in North Fitzroy's Edinburgh Gardens last year. A largely unorganised event that completely trashed the parklands, the party sent 20 people into the care of emergency services and gave 10,000–15,000 local residents an amazing night to remember. It also somewhat memorably gave the Herald Sun another reason to get mad at "hipsters".

Though the motion was not passed unanimously, this New Year's Eve will see public alcohol consumption banned from 9pm until 9am the following morning in the areas of Richmond, Abbotsford, Collingwood and Fitzroy (AKA everywhere you were planning to go). Mayor Jackie Fristacky stated the ban will discourage "anti-social behaviour" and be a great step in ensuring the safety of all residents in the area. Though councillor Stephen Jolly who voted against the measure claims the motion is extremist. "It's outrageous and it's actually going to just drive the problem underground," he said. "What they're doing now is going from one extreme to another and they're treating the young people that go down to Edinburgh Gardens as if they're al-Qaeda."

Al-Qaeda! Hey, we like drinking in the park as much as the next inner-city hipster but that's a big call.

Regardless, a lot of this talk isn't new. NYE alcohol is already banned in all public spaces in the inner Melbourne region, Port Phillip, and all of the Mornington Peninsula and Surf Coast. It's safe to say people are well-trained at swigging from covert flasks these days. The main sticking point of the ban is the huge cost involved in implementing it. Though the cleanup for last year's disgraceful mess — don't get us wrong, it really was awful — cost a whopping $30,000, the Council has said this year's efforts including security, cleaning and ground staff are estimated to cost $180,000. The Age are even reporting this figure could go as high as $250,000.

Both fearful residents and frustrated partygoers are now left to question if the new benefits now outweigh the monumental cost. If we're going to fork out that much money to create a safe and respectable environment on NYE, you'd think we'd at least deserve a cheeky glass of bubbles as the clock strikes midnight.

Via ABC and The Age.

Top image licensed under GNU Free Documentation License 1.2 via Wikimedia Commons.